Chapter 3

At nine the next morning, there was no deposit.

Instead, my phone lit up with one alert after another. My black card had been canceled. The card on his account had been frozen.

I sat on the couch by the floor-to-ceiling window and laughed.

Adrian was teaching me a lesson. He thought if he cut off my money, I'd come crawling back to apologize. He used to be the most generous man I knew. Now he was just as ruthless, all to make Chloe feel better.

I took a sip of coffee. It was bitter.

My phone rang. It was Lauren Miles, my partner at the gallery.

"Evelyn, we have a problem!" She sounded frantic. "The venue just canceled our 'Above the Clouds' jewelry show next week!"

I frowned. "How? We paid in full months ago."

This show meant everything to me. I'd spent three years getting ready for it. It was my chance to be known as a designer in my own right, not as somebody's kept woman.

"Sterling Group offered them triple our rate to book the whole place for a charity auction. Something about helping college students in poverty."

Lauren was furious. "Evelyn, Adrian's doing this to you on purpose!"

My nails dug into my palm until it stung.

A charity auction for poor students. What a convenient excuse.

"Okay," I said, keeping my voice steady. "Calm down the guests on our list. I'll handle the venue."

I hung up and called Adrian.

It rang for a long time before he picked up. "What?"

He sounded lazy and bored. In the background, a girl was laughing.

"Did you take my venue?" I asked.

He chuckled. "I thought you were so independent, Evelyn. You can't even hang onto one booking?"

"That show is three years of my life."

"I know." He said it like we were talking about the weather. "But Chloe needs a platform. She wants this auction to get people talking about students like her. That matters a lot more than your pretty little jewelry show."

For a second, I couldn't breathe. Pretty little jewelry show.

All those nights I'd stayed up until dawn. The thousand sketches I'd thrown away. That was all it amounted to.

"I booked it first, Adrian," I said through my teeth.

"I'll pay you double." He was losing patience. "Don't be so selfish. You have plenty. Chloe has nothing. Why can't you let her have this one thing?"

Let her have it.

First I was supposed to give up his love. Then my pride. Now my work.

Chloe's timid voice came through the phone. "Mr. Sterling, is that Evie? If she doesn't want to, never mind. I don't want to come between you two."

"Of course she'll say yes," Adrian told her, his voice suddenly gentle. "I've just spoiled her. That's why she has such a temper. She'll get over it."

I closed my eyes and took a long breath.

"Fine."

When I opened them again, whatever I'd still felt for him had gone cold.

"Chloe can have the venue."

The line went quiet. He clearly hadn't expected me to give in so easily.

"Since you're being reasonable about it," he said, like he was doing me a favor, "I'll have the cards unfrozen."

"Don't bother. Keep your money. But if this is a trade, then refund my venue fee and pay me the cancellation penalty. Every cent goes into my personal account."

"You're asking for money again?" His voice dropped.

"Business is business."

"Is money all you care about now?"

"Yes," I said. "I've been broke before. I'm not doing it again."

I hung up before he could say another word.

Then I opened the safe on my desk. Inside were property deeds and accounts I'd built up over the years in my own name—nothing tied to Sterling Group.

I called my asset manager overseas.

"Julian, it's me."

"Ms. Vale. What can I do for you?"

"Find everything I own here that isn't connected to the Sterlings, and sell it. As fast as you can."

I looked out at the gray sky. My head had never been clearer.

"And look into flights to Paris for me."

"You're leaving?" He sounded surprised.

"Yes." I shut the safe. "If I can't be his little bird anymore, I'd better have a way out."